PSA: About Animations and NPCs

Posted on 26 Oct 2018 by NixNivis

Since this is a question I’ve been asked a few times, and also something I’ve seen come up on other sites:

None of my animated objects are controlled by NPCs!

Contrary to what seems to be popular belief, animated objects don’t always require an NPC to run; whether they do depends on the type and complexity of the object and not just on whether or not it’s animated. Objects that move around the lot, like Rebecah’s farm animals, usually need an NPC to work, but simple animated objects like mine, that rotate/swing/rock in place, do not.

But if any object of mine did spawn an NPC (which I say again, they do NOT), I promise you it would say so very, very clearly in the upload post. I know there are creators out there who like to foist undisclosed features upon their downloaders, but I’m not that kind of creator.

For Nonni: Four Rocking Cots

Posted on 19 Feb 2017 by NixNivis

Category: Misc. -> Children
Poly Count: Medium poly to High poly!
EPs Required: Free Time , Seasons

Well. These have been a long time coming, to say the least. They were supposed to be posted already during Toddler Month in July, but that didn’t happen for various reasons. At the time I thought it would be no big deal if I uploaded it in early or mid August instead… but then Nonni died. 😥 Nonni wasn’t just a dear friend, she was also one of my most faithful and frequent commenters and had been following this blog from the start. This upload was something I knew she would have liked (she loved the toddlers in game), and I had been greatly looking forward to getting her enthusiastic comments on it… so I needed some time to adjust to her being gone before I was emotionally ready to post it. (I always knew I was going to post it, though; my shelving it on her behalf would have been the last thing Nonni would have wanted.) Then, of course, I had to go on hiatus on a bit for health reasons… so yeah. Time passed.

But now they are finally here: Four rocking cots for your littlest Simlets. For Nonni. ❤

Pottery Table for Kids

Posted on 23 May 2015 by NixNivis

Pottery Table for Kids

Category: Hobbies -> Misc.
EPs Required: Open for Business + Free Time
Cost: $750
Poly Count: Low poly (700)

You know the Yeti I told you about before? The one who wanted an outhouse for their blind date? Well, before they decided that an outhouse was the most romantic way to go, Yeti and I brainstormed a bit about what might be a good thing to bring to their date. One of the things that were on the table, was something that would let children gain pottery skills. At first, I tried to add pottery skilling to a custom object, but after failing spectacularly a number of times, I decided it would be easier just to clone the pottery wheel and make it so that kids could use it. (Yes, I thought it would be easier to do it that way. That’s how spectacularly I failed. 😛 ) So, I did. But then the nice Yeti thought it wouldn’t be fair to keep it just for their blind date, they thought I ought to post it on my site instead. So, I am.

Tube for Tots

Posted on 22 Apr 2015 by NixNivis

Tube for Tots

Category: Electronics -> TVs & Computers
Cost: $250 (large); $235 (small)
Poly Count: Low poly (856)
EPs Required: None – base game compatible

At Affinity Sims, KittenOnACloud made a request for a TV that her Sim toddlers could watch. Me, I thought this sounded like a great idea – so I made her a Tube for Tots.

Bonus: If you want your little ones to have their very own TV channel to watch, Kitten (Bubblebeam @ MTS) has created the Tiny Tots TV Channel just for them, here.

Two TSM Teddy Bears

Posted on 17 Jul 2014 by NixNivis

Two TSM Teddy Bears

Category: Misc. -> Children
Poly Count: Medium poly ( <1200)
EPs Required: None – base-game compatible

I know at least one of these has been done before, but it’s Toddler Month and my medieval tots wanted some teddy bears to hug, and I just couldn’t say no to them. So I’ve converted the peasant teddy from the TSM base game and the pirate teddy from Pirates & Nobles. 🙂 (Yes, in the base game there’s a knight teddy as well, but that teddy was evil. Evil, I tell you!) Their poly count comes in at just under 1200 polys, but that’s actually some 400 polys fewer than the TS2 base-game teddy, so it’s not high in any way.

Many thanks to BloomsBase for his tutorial on how to transfer TS2 bone assignments to a TS3/TSM mesh, which saved my sanity, not to mention the bone assignments’.

TSM Rocking Horse

Posted on 9 Jul 2014 by NixNivis

TSM Rocking Horse

Category: Misc. -> Children
Cost: $75
Poly Count: Low poly
EPs Required: Apartment Life

In TSM, you have this charming little rocking horse – but even though it’s in the children’s category it’s purely decorative, so all your little Sims can do with it is to look at it. Now, this might be fun for scholarly Sims, but not so much for everybody else. So, in appreciation of Toddler Month, I converted it – and made it functional. 😀 Now your littlest Sims can use this rocking horse as it’s supposed to be used – and they won’t just have fun while doing it, they’ll build body skill as well!

This rocking horse requires AL. I tried to see if I could dumb it down, so to speak, and make it so that it would only require [some EP] or above, but it really didn’t like that. So AL it is.

Animated Starship Mobile

Posted on 25 Jun 2011 by NixNivis

Category: Misc. -> Children
Cost: $50 (one-tile) and $51 (two-tile)
Poly Count: (2,100+)
EPs Required: None – base game compatible

High poly warning! This object has almost 2,200 polys! If you are on a slow computer, you might want to limit the number of mobiles on your lot, and I recommend you keep the animation turned off if it makes your game lag.